Guayangareo

Guayangareo was the name of a valley in the highlands of Michoacán, where the Spanish city of Valladolid was founded near an Indigenous Pirinda settlement. Built on a hill in a regular plan, the city became known for its churches and buildings of pink stone. It eventually rivalled Pátzcuaro as the political and religious centre of the province.

In 1541 Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza ordered the establishment of a Spanish city in the valley. During the following decades it acquired the name Valladolid, and in 1580 the civil authorities and episcopal seat were transferred there from Pátzcuaro. Religious orders established convents, while Indigenous communities were gathered outside the centre. The cathedral, begun in 1660 and consecrated in 1705, became the focus of an increasingly imposing city. Valladolid also became a centre of ideas associated with the independence movement. José María Morelos was born there, and Miguel Hidalgo studied and taught at the College of San Nicolás. In 1828 the city was renamed Morelia in honour of Morelos, linking its colonial streets with the memory of the struggle for independence.